2011 dl650 adventure

[1TRAK]

Bought a 650 V Strom a couple months ago, I wanted to put some miles on it before posting up about it.
As some of you know I enjoy riding gravel and two tracks on the NT, it seemed to work ok as long as one was careful and rode slowly.
A while back I had a chance to ride the NT and DL back to back on pavement and gravel, the DL seemed pretty amazing at the time. A hundred pounds less weight, the same horsepower and torque as the NT, virtually no vibration and better suspension really makes a difference.
I was going to buy that used and fully farkled 06 for a song and keep the NT for long trips but after doing the math on two used bikes (maintainence, insurance, future farkles) and talking to folks that travel on the DL my wife and I decided on a new V Strom instead.

We got an excellent price from Peacock Ltd. on a Black 2011 650 ABS with factory bags and trunk plus they were more than fair on the NT for trade.

My friend Jarod and I made the 2 hour ride north to Peacock one beautiful fall day, parted with the Faster Red NT after 19000 great miles and started a new journey on the V Strom 650. Here's some pics from the ride home.

Steve

 

[Chucksklrst]

Good looking Wee. Welcome to Wee ownership. Too bad you could not have keep both.

 

[1TRAK]

Good looking Wee. Welcome to Wee ownership. Too bad you could not have keep both.

Thanks for the welcome and I agree Chuck, but four bikes in the stable right now was not in the cards! Steve

 

[Chucksklrst]

Recommend that the first after market farkle for the Wee is the crash bars and the bash plate. The under belly is not protected at all and with the factory soft suspension it will be easy to bang the bottom of the bike.

 

[1TRAK]

I hear that, got swmotech crashbars, skidplate and radiator guard ordered from twisted throttle.Do you know of a screen that works without the madstat bracket?
Steve

 

[Chucksklrst]

I found that the STOCK shield works great with the Mad Stat. No need to get another shield. I am using a MRA Vario shield with a Mad Stat bracket and it works great. The only reason I replaced my OEM shield, is becouse my bike fell against a tree and scratched the shield. Don't know about with out the bracket.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The Wee is a good-looking bike. If I had had better knees, it would have been a tough choice between it and the NT. But with my knees, I'm not going to be riding many two-tracks, much less any one-tracks. Enjoy!

 

[RedLdr1]

Congratulations on your Wee. The pricing on the 2011's makes them one of the best deals in motorcycling in my opinion... Add in the $199 OEM luggage promotional deal, with 35L per side, and it is just about unbeatable. I really enjoy mine and I'm just glad I could keep the NT as well...I would hate to have to choose between them...

As for windshields I just installed the Windstrom Manta windshield yesterday and haven't had a chance to ride with it yet. It is a huge "barn door" when compared to the OEM windshield and should provide a lot better coverage. Plus you can add a winglet later if you want / need it. I had already tried adjusting the stock windshield with a Madstad bracket and I still wanted more coverage and less wind noise.

As far as other neat farkles the Suzuki Gel Seat is much more comfortable than the stock seat and can be had for around $200 on eBay. But be warned it will raise the seat height up about an inch! I also purchased the OEM heated grips kit ($180) off eBay... A set of mirror extenders gave me a much better view for all of $20... I should have my AltRider skid plate soon to go with my crash bars and sliders...

Don't be a stranger here just because you sold your NT. We have a fairly good Wee sub-forum going here...

 

[1TRAK]

Thank you Phil, if I didn't ride off the pavement much I would still have the NT, it was the best twin cylinder traveler I've ever had.

Thanks for the comments and information on the farkles Wayne, that AltRider skidplate looks like a real rock crusher! The swmotech crashbars and skidplate I'm waiting on look a bit less stout than the AltRider set but have a pretty good crash record.

I've got a good start on the farkles so far with the swmotech parts, Givi tall screen, and Kaoko throttle lock ordered and already have a scott stabilizer I have to install (got a great deal on a used one from of all places my local BMW dealer who pulled it off a vstrom trade), handguards, tankbag, compass and gps hardwired.

I've put quite a few miles on it and so far it's been great on pavement, gravel, travel (made two trips with it I'll post up later), and the twisty bits.

Thanks for the welcome, I'll keep posting till yas give me the boot! LOL Take Care Wayne

 

[Phil Tarman]

Wayne, we'll never throw you off for having a Wee. Keep posting your pictures!

 

[RedLdr1]

Wayne, we'll never throw you off for having a Wee. Keep posting your pictures!

I think you meant Steve...

 

[RedLdr1]

I ended up adding a center stand to my '07 Wee after pulling the wheel for a new chain and sprockets. I figured that it would make fixing or changing a flat while on the road a lot easier.

It is rather humorous to consider "Marketing" dweebs "logic"... The NT has shaft drive so make a center stand standard... The Wee is chain drive so make a center stand optional...:rolleyes1: I had my OEM center stand installed three days after I picked my Wee up...

 

[Phil Tarman]

I think you meant Steve...

Umm, guess I did, didn't I? Sorry about that, Steve!

And Wayne too, I guess...

 

[1TRAK]

The PO avoided adding it because of reduced ground clearance - I think he routinely went offroad, but I don't think we went on long trips. The center stand from Twisted Throttle reduces clearance very little and the Wee practically jumps up onto it when I use it.

Thanks for the info on the screens Wayne and Chuck, sounds like there's many options there.

Thank you for the comments Bob, the stormtrooper site is great! This stock screen is the worst I've ever had, I'm hoping the Givi helps. If not I'll get the madstat bracket Chuck recommened, read lots of good comments about those.

I haven't ordered the center stand because the Strom doesn't have much ground clearance and I ride mine on two tracks and gravel a lot. Any idea how much ground clearance it takes away and what it weighs?

Steve

 

[Chucksklrst]

Thanks for the info on the screens Wayne and Chuck, sounds like there's many options there.

Thank you for the comments Bob, the stormtrooper site is great! This stock screen is the worst I've ever had, I'm hoping the Givi helps. If not I'll get the madstat bracket Chuck recommened, read lots of good comments about those.

I haven't ordered the center stand because the Strom doesn't have much ground clearance and I ride mine on two tracks and gravel a lot. Any idea how much ground clearance it takes away and what it weighs?

Steve

The Wee weighs 418lbs dry. Add fuel and all your ad on farkles and you are close to 450+

 

[1TRAK]

The Wee weighs 418lbs dry. Add fuel and all your ad on farkles and you are close to 450+

Thanks Chuck, guess that's why the brakeslides and singletrack are so hard on this bike...got to quit topping off the tank before every ride! The ABS isn't helping much either. I'm kidding of course but it is nice to have a street bike that does easy dirt riding comfortably.

 

[RedLdr1]

The ABS isn't helping much either.

There are a couple of kits out that allow to to flip a switch and disable the ABS for off-road....

The OEM center stand weighs around 8 pounds I would guess... It isn't particularly light...:rolleyes1: As for any lost ground clearance a skid plate will take about as much if not more... Since I am a dirt road / fire trail rider type I am not to worried about the lost clearance...

 

[Chucksklrst]

Thanks Chuck, guess that's why the brakeslides and singletrack are so hard on this bike...got to quit topping off the tank before every ride! The ABS isn't helping much either. I'm kidding of course but it is nice to have a street bike that does easy dirt riding comfortably.

Single track on my KLR650 can also get to be a pain at only 340 lb. Trying to pick it up by ones self can get interesting. Especially on ice and snow.

 

[1TRAK]

There are a couple of kits out that allow to to flip a switch and disable the ABS for off-road....

The OEM center stand weighs around 8 pounds I would guess... It isn't particularly light...:rolleyes1: As for any lost ground clearance a skid plate will take about as much if not more... Since I am a dirt road / fire trail rider type I am not to worried about the lost clearance...

Thanks Wayne, believe I'll get the centerstand and the kit for the ABS.

I've ridden down your way before in Northern Georgia: Warwoman/Clayton, 197/Helen, Blood mountain, 60/Suches, what a beautiful area to ride.

We hope to get down to Robbinsville again in 2013 and ride some gravel in the Chattahoochee National Forest, ran out of time last year.

 

[1TRAK]

Single track on my KLR650 can also get to be a pain at only 340 lb. Trying to pick it up by ones self can get interesting. Especially on ice and snow.

Singletrak, KLR, snow and ice. Sounds like many trips to the chiropractor! I had a KLR for a while and rode a bit of singletrak with it but (for me at least) it was better suited for two traks and travel. Great to travel on as long as the wind wasn't bad, took me to some neat places. I really enjoyed that bike.